Mobile devices are ubiquitous today's society and provide generally immediate access to communication, entertainment, and navigation as well as provide a seemingly endless array of solutions to problems that users sometimes do not even know exist. With the introduction of high-performance processors, graphics modules and high resolution displays into the hardware of mobile devices, mobile devices are now able to access and operate a plethora of resource hungry applications, for example, computer gaming applications.
Previously, mobile gaming was carried out with dedicated mobile gaming devices, which can typically include a device body with a display screen and controller buttons or joysticks provided on the device body. In comparison, complex computer games in various genres can now be operated on multi-functional mobile devices such as mobile phones and mobile tablet computers. However, there is a dissatisfaction in gaming on such multi-functional mobile devices, for which the primary function still remains as for communication, or for entertainment in watching a video or reading an article. This is due to the lack of hardware gaming controller features provided with the multi-functional mobile devices for physical user manipulation, which reduces the type and amount of user input into the gaming application as well as depreciates the gaming experience. Further, most personal computer (PC) based games which cart now run on mobile devices require more input that what the touch-based display of mobile devices usually provide for.
In response to such a need, various manufacturers have provided hardware gaming controllers for connecting to a mobile device, typically a multi-functional mobile device. For example, a console gaming controller can be plugged into a mobile device through a universal serial bus (USB) connection, or can operate uncoupled from the mobile device through a wireless Bluetooth® connection. However, such separate gaming controllers take away from the mobility and portability of devices, and handling the mobile device separate from the gaming controller is not desirable.
The proprietor of the present disclosure has previously released a gamepad controller peripheral, the Razer® Edge® Gaming Controller, which can receive a mobile tablet computer into a device body, and includes a pair of handles on both sides of the body, each handle including a joystick and controller buttons. The mobile computer is thus physically transformed to a dedicated gaming device, capable of being physically handled and providing hardware control elements for user manipulation.
However, a mobile device, in adapting such a gamepad controller peripheral for dedicated mobile gaming, becomes relatively heavy and bulky, which can be detrimental to a gamer operating such a device.
An alternative solution is thus sought in providing hardware gaming controllers for use with a mobile device with for gaming applications, to provide for a fuller gaming experience, and in which any impairment of the portability or handling of the mobile device is reduced.